Soccer-Brighton boss Hughton targets striker in January window

Reuters Staff

2 Min Read

Dec 21 (Reuters) - Signing a striker in the January transfer window will be one of the main priorities for Brighton and Hove Albion, but the club will act only if the right player becomes available, manager Chris Hughton said on Thursday.

Brighton are 13th in the table with 18 points after four wins, six draws and eight defeats. They have scored 14 league goals so far this season, the fewest among the promoted teams, with striker Glenn Murray scoring five.

“It (signing a striker) was one of our priorities in the summer but it didn’t happen,” Hughton told a news conference ahead of Saturday’s game against 10th-placed Watford. “We will only do something in January if it’s right for us to do.

“We need to make sure our squad is as strong as possible going into this last stage of the season. If there is the right player available and it’s one that we feel can add to what we do here, then there will be interest but only if it’s right.”

Hughton believes teams will have to spend big if they are to land players in the January window.

“We saw a huge increase in the valuation of players this summer. I’m quite sure that the valuations won’t be going down,” he said.

“Anybody that might move from one club to another, whether it’s from an English club to another English club or a foreign club to an English club the values will be what they were in the summer if not more.”

Brighton have lost four of their last six league games and are 13th in the table. Their last victory was against Swansea City in November. (Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis)